☜THΣ Ҝ-TIMΣS☞

Bully

Actress Seo Ye Ji has been caught in the middle of a shocking controversy involving her former boyfriend and actor, Kim Jung Hyun. As the two actors continue to make headlines across the nation, Seo Ye Ji’s past is also continuing to be unearthed and brought back into the spotlight.

Previously in February of this year, Seo Ye Ji was accused of being a school bully and engaging in school violence by a netizen claiming to be a former schoolmate. While it didn’t gain traction at the time, the accusations are belatedly making headlines due to the actress’s ongoing controversy.

Just a few days ago, another victim has stepped forward to confirm these previous rumors and to share the legitimacy of the first allegations that were made. This netizen also claimed to be a victim of Seo Ye Ji’s bullying and as alleged proof, they shared a photo of their middle school yearbook. They started off the story by revealing the reason why the bullying accusations didn’t stick the first time.

"The reason why the school violence and bullying didn’t blow up at the time is because we’re all mothers now. It’s hard for mothers to step forward and come out like that. I’m also a mother so I fully understand where they were coming from."

— Alleged bullying victim

They also re-shared a photo of the original poster’s proof. Back in February, Seo Ye Ji’s middle school photo was uploaded online, along with a handwritten note stamping the time and date of the allegation. Along with the photo, the victim continued with their story by sharing the violence and bullying instances the victims endured at the hands of Seo Ye Ji.

"There was a girl who got smacked around in front of everyone by Seo Ye Ji. She’s a mom now. She (Seo Ye Ji) would go around with her girls, but if she decided she didn’t like you, she would start hitting you. She treated people like they were her belongings."

— Alleged bullying victim

The It’s Okay To Not Be Okay actress was also formerly hit with bullying accusations back in 2014. This victim claimed that “Seo Ye Ji was well-known at our school as a bully. Everyone knew her. She would bully and steal money from people.” At the time of this reveal, however, Seo Ye Ji was just beginning her career as a rookie actress. Thus, these allegations never made headlines.

Seo Ye Ji became the target of severe criticism after her skinship controversy with Kim Jung Hyun became publicized. Alleged text messages between the two actors were released by Dispatch, showing Seo Ye Ji’s opposition to Kim Jung Hyun’s skinship scenes for his 2018 drama, The Time. She allegedly ordered Kim Jung Hyun to refuse all skinship scenes and to act coldly towards all the females on set. Her demands resulted in Kim Jung Hyun’s noticeably rude and hostile behavior towards his female lead counterpart, Girls’ Generation‘s Seohyun.

Since the controversy, the actress has been laying low and staying out of the spotlight. Seo Ye Ji has since canceled her appearance for the press conference for her movie,  Recalled, and has also reportedly dropped out of her upcoming OCN drama due to the ongoing situation.

More updates ---

- Aside from being a controlling girlfriend, Ye Ji treated the people who worked for her disrespectfully. A former staff member aired her grievance, “Every time a staff member resigns, Ye Ji would say ‘This circle is small, be careful of what you say. I can make it hard for you to get jobs.’” The former staff wanted to quit, but endured and continued to work for the actress until finding another position.

- The former staff complained that Ye Ji constantly cursed and treated them like slaves, “She often asked people to buy cigarettes. If there is a mistake, she would puff smoke in our faces. When she goes to the bathroom, she would yell at us if we don’t follow her. She didn’t treat us like humans. She treated us like dogs or pigs.”

- As stories about her bullying character emerge, Ye Ji’s image has been destroyed and many companies quickly cut the actress from their brand endorsement campaigns.

Kim Jung Hyun Issues Apology Letter ---

- After days of silence, Jung Hyun released a handwritten letter to apologize for the controversy and his rude behavior towards his co-stars while filming Time. He had disrupted the Time’s production schedule when demanded script changes to avoid intimate scenes with his co-star, SNSD’s Seohyun.

- The actor shared that the drama was special to him because it was his first leading role, but he regrettably hurt and disappointed the director, scriptwriter, and his co-stars.  Jun Hyun expressed his remorse, “I cannot accept my behavior back then. I really regret this, and I wish I could go back in time.”

- Jung Hyun did not mention Ye Ji in his apology letter, but he apologized to talent agencies O & Entertainment and Culture Depot. Earlier, Jung Hyun and O & Entertainment were in dispute when the actor declined to renew his contract and signed a new contract with Culture Depot.

- Sources close to Jung Hyun shared that the actor suffered from depression and insomnia since he started acting and received treatment at the hospital. While the actor was able to get help and saw improvements in his mental health, the recent events have set back his progress. Jung Hyun is now receiving treatment again and is being cared for by his family.

Source: On.cc , JayneStars, Koreaboo.

-Reporter Aroo